1. Never date a colleague — period. According to Ta, it doesn’t take a degree from Stanford or Harvard to know that it’s never wise to date a colleague. In the corporate world, sleeping your way to the top virtually always backfires, Ta says. Even if a woman should make it to the top under such circumstances, she will more-than-likely be unable to command the respect she’ll need to do her job once she gets there. Ta recalls the rare exceptions where dating the boss works out, such as the case of Bill and Melinda Gates, “Cinderella stories” that are definitely not the norm and should therefore never be used as examples to emulate.

2. Never bring personal matters into the office. Doing so is simply asking for trouble, as the line between the business and the personal becomes blurred, creating complications that can have far-reaching effects. Ta tells us that to earn respect in the office, you must first have self-respect; and before you can build your net worth, you must first possess self-worth. So, keep personal matters at home where they belong, and bring your best professional self to the workplace. This is one of the best ways to keep your self-respect intact.

3. Don’t blame the man if you come to the “race” unprepared. Ta describes the woman who arrives to compete against a man in a 100-meter race wearing pumps or heels and a skirt and expects to win. She won’t. This is no way to prepare for a challenging competition. The man gave her a shot. It was she who failed to follow through. Based on her own experience Ta asserts that if you possess the right qualities, experience, and other abilities you need to succeed, you will be given a shot. But, you will still be responsible for making the most of that opportunity. You can’t expect anyone else to do it for you.

4. Assess — and then reassess — before you decide to sue. Determine whether you are doing enough to succeed at work. To make it in the corporate world — and especially in a male-dominated field like tech — you need to give your all — to “man up,” as Ta puts it. Instead of putting your head down and focusing on your work, Ta suggests that you need to “stick your head up, walk straight, and climb to the top — with respect.” Ta says that women who want to climb the corporate ladder and reach the “top of the top” can do it. But, they must do it right.

5. If you plan to sue your employer resign first. This is only common sense. It’s simply naïve to believe you can continue working for the employer against whom you’ve filed a lawsuit and avoid retaliation. If you couldn’t get along or get ahead before your lawsuit, what makes you think you’ll be able to after you’ve created the whole new set of tensions that will arise as a result of your suit?

Jenny Q. Ta is the founder and CEO of Sqeeqee, the first-of-its-kind all-in-one social networthing site launched in 2014. Taking the Sqeeqee platform one step further, Jenny created a mobile and online game, Squiggy Piggy, set to launch January of 2015.

Jenny is a seasoned entrepreneur with more that 20 years of experience as a senior executive in sales, marketing, and finance with two successful Wall Street ventures to her credit. Prior to founding Sqeeqee and creating Squiggy Piggy, Jenny founded full-service broker-dealer startup, Vantage Investments, that she grew to a quarter of a billion dollars in assets. Jenny then founded and became the CEO of Titan Securities, a full service investment firm that was later acquired in 2005.

In 2014 Jenny released her first book, Wall Street Cinderella, detailing her escape from Vietnam during the war and her path to success from welfare to Wall Street. Currently talks of a movie deal for Wall Street Cinderella are in the works.

Jenny earned her MBA in Financial Management and B.S. in Management Information Systems from California State University, Fresno.